Sunday Funday!

Ok, after a long hiatus, I finally posted a bunch of new items on my sales page!  I really have a lot of stuff to sell, I've been just lazy.  I actually should post a lot more too, because my closet is getting crazy!  So please check it out and let me know if you are interested in anything.

Second news, I finally got a tripod and switched to a different room to take my OOTD pictures!  Lol.  My bf has been annoyed for years with the spot that I used to take photos, because it was right outside of the bedroom door (where the full length mirror is) and when I would be taking pictures, he wouldn't be able to go in/out of the room lol.  I don't know why it took me so long to buy a tripod from Amazon, but I finally did it!  I now have better lighting as well, so it's probably an improvement.  It's just so different because I'm used to holding my phone while taking pictures, so now I'm like... what do I do with my hand???  Haha!  I do need practice still with the new set up, so bear with me...

Anyway... I got in 3 workouts this week.  I kind of miscalculated because I thought I'd be able to go once on the weekend.  But I forgot that I had plans on both days.  Yesterday, I had some appointments and then got a great massage from Burke Williams.  I even joined their monthly membership so that it will make me go regularly, because why not.  Today I had a friend in town and we hung out all day, and ate and shopped and ate... lol.  Definitely the opposite of working out but oh well.  Next week will be my last week of Get Glutes Month 18 workouts.  I plan on finishing strong!

Monday 7/25

What I did:  Strength #1, followed by 30 minutes on the treadmill.

What I wore:
Top:  Splits59 Tone Racerback

Bra:  Lorna Jane Quick Step Bra

Bottom:  Zobha Tummy Slimming Capri

Shoes:  Nike Free 5.0 TR Fit 4 in hyper cobalt/bright mango

Tuesday 7/26 - Rest, but here's my work outfit:

Top:  Calvin Klein Surplus Two Tone Knit Dress

Shoes:  Christian Dior Miss Dior Pump

Wednesday 7/27
What I did:  Strength #2, followed by some conditioning work.

What I wore:
Top:  Splits59 Sabrina Razor
Bottom:  Lululemon Pace Crop
Shoes:  Nike Free 5.0 TR Fit 4 in venom/turbo green

To and From:  Lululemon Swiftly LS in fresh teal / very green

Thursday 7/28 - Rest, here's my work outfit:

Top:  Vince Sleeveless Blouse

Bottom:  Express Cotton Sateen Skirt in firecracker

Shoes:  Christian Louboutin Bianca Pump in nude patent

Friday 7/29

What I did:  Strength #3, followed by 20 minutes on the treadmill.

What I wore:  

Top:  Lululemon Breezy Singlet

Bra:  Lululemon Free To Be in faded zap

Bottom:  Lululemon Inspire Crop in savasana camo fatigue green

Shoes:  Nike Free 3.0 in gray/crimson

To and From:  Lorna Jane Willow Mesh Sweater

Saturday 7/30 - Rest.  Went to dinner at Herringbone in Santa Monica, and here's my outfit:

Top:  This new top I bought from Lulus which I will post more details later!

Bottom:  Black Orchid Jegging

Shoes:  Valentino Rockstud Pump

Bag:  Rebecca Minkoff Chevron Quilted Love Bag

Sunday 7/31 - Another rest day.  I wore a very very similar outfit today to brunch and shop in, because I just really really love my new Valentino shoes lol.

Top:  Umano Pocket Art Tee

Bottom:  Express Stella Camo Legging

Shoes:  Valentino Rockstud Pump

Bag:  Balanciaga City Bag

I feel like I got a slightly better hang of the whole tripod thing by the end of this week.  So hopefully it gets easier from now on.  I'm thinking maybe I should get a backdrop too so you don't have to look at my cable cord against the baseboard... LOL.  Anyway... hope you had a great weekend!

Valentino Rockstud Heels

I finally found my dream shoes!!  Lol.  Seriously though, I have been looking for a pair of bright highlighter yellow Valentino Rockstud Heels in 100mm for a VERY long time and finally found a pair on ebay!  The Rockstud heels have a really good resale value, so they generally go pretty high on ebay, even for used ones!  I'd say average is $500ish from what I've seen.  Luckily, I had a lot of ebay bucks from buying so much in the last few months so it didn't feel like a huge splurge to get these shoes lol.  This style comes in many different colors, and I think the brighter colors are the best.   Since the straps are nude, even bright colors don't appear to be super loud.  Also, the 100mm heel height is very comfortable.

Here they are!!

So these are size 36.  People say Valentino shoes run small, but I wear my regular size still.  People also say the same for Louboutin shoes and I also wear my true size, so maybe I'm an outlier.  I can't imagine wearing a bigger size in these Rockstud shoes... the straps would be so loose.  In fact, the strap that goes from the side to the back is already loose in size 36, as you can see below.  I've heard that this issue is rather common though, in every color.  I can't size down either because then my heel would fall out of the back lol.  It's not ideal, but not a deal breaker.  At least the strap that goes horizontally across the ankles is a good fit.

When you wear the shoes, and you are moving around, the slightly loose strap is not noticeable at all.  I wore them to work last week and here's what they look like with an outfit:

I love these so much that I don't even care about the slight imperfections.  The studs are actually quite shiny so as you walk around, they catch the light and they are just so pretty!  I've already worn them every chance I've gotten lol.  Now I understand why these shoes are so highly sought after.  I think I need these in another color - just have to decide which one.  I totally should have jumped on the Rockstud bandwagon a long time ago!  =)

All Saints Sale

I made a big order from All Saints last week, since they are having 20% off all sale items (code EXTRA20).  I actually ended up returning the whole order!  I don't believe that something like this has ever happened to me.  Sure, I return things all the time.  But I can't remember a single other time that I've ordered a bunch of items and didn't keep any.  First time for everything - haha!

So here are the items I ordered and the reason why I returned them.  First one is probably my favorite item, which is the Victoria Boot.  They are cute and really nothing wrong with them at all.  But since I just got the Rag & Bone boot, which are kinda similar in style (though very different colors), I felt it was overkill to have another pair, especially when it's so hot out right now.  The Victoria Boot was on sale from $360 to $216 and you get extra 20% off so they ended up being like $170.

If you are in the market for boots like these, I think they are totally cute though!  I got size 6.5 which is half a size up from my usual.  It fits well. 

Inner Side

Note that their EU size is totally off though.  I'm usually US size 6 and EU size 36.  But these are US size 6.5 and EU size 37.5.  Go with your normal US size!

Ok, next item is very disappointing, because it looks cute on the model.  But it's way shorter than expected.  It is the Mau Pina Tee.  It looks to be a regular length tee on the model.  Maybe one would need to size up a lot in order to get that length.  But I got size S and it is already loose fitting.

I am wearing a white tank under the tee.  But you can see how short it is.  I don't like the cut off tee style that's so popular right now.

I also wasn't sure what was going on with the collar - looks like an elementary job:

Bottom hem is not much better:

So that was an easy pass.  Next item is kinda cute and I considered keeping.  It is the Chan Stripe Dress.  In the end I returned it because it's nothing special, especially given the price of $90 after the discount.  Also the material is really thick, like a thick towel.  So I was pretty hot in it and didn't see when I would be able to wear this.  I got it in size S and it's true to size:

This waist/hip tie thing is very wide as well and it's sewn on so you can't take it off.  It feels a bit chunky.

Next dress I actually kinda do like is the Elis Cowl Dress.  I like the fact that it's very loose fitting on top and fitted on the bottom.  But I returned it because the top is a little TOO overwhelming.  I wish they had toned it down just a bit.  The bottom is also rather short and on the tight side.  So I like the idea but I think the execution makes it a little awkward.  I did think about keeping it though.

This is size S as well and true to size.

Next is another dress.  The Adria Dress.  I thought it would be a nice black dress to have that is not too fancy or too casual.  But the fit is just bad.  I think the sewing job on one side is off.  Even if it was right, I still wasn't crazy about it so it was an easy return as well.  I also got it in size S.  

Note the lower right side of the picture and how it bulges out for no reason:

Here's the lower portion up close - I don't know what's going on there:

And here's the upper portion:

Ok, the final dress I got is the Nast Dress.  I can't even tell you how it fits though, because I couldn't get it on!  Hahaha!  The material has no stretch at all, and there are no zippers or anything.  So you have to either pull it over your head/shoulders, or step into it.  Either way, I couldn't even come close to being able to put it on.  I ordered size S which is the same size as all the other items.  I think if I was able to put it on, it would be loose fitting like it is on the model though.  I held it up against me and it looked that way lol.  Too bad.  I like the rust color.  But not enough to exchange for a bigger size.  I thought it was too pricey anyway, at $187.

Ok, last item!  It is the Wasson Pirate Cardigan which is a thin sweater/cardigan thingy.  I kind of liked it too, but not enough to keep for the price tag of $80ish.  It's also a lot shorter than I thought it was going to be.  I'm not sure what size models All Saints uses, but so far both tops I got have been very misleading.  I got this cardigan in size S as well which looks like a full length cardigan on the model but half length on me.

So the cool thing about this cardigan is that it's convertible.  There are snap buttons on the front lapels and the lower back so you can wear it closed instead of draping open.  Here are the buttons:

So if you wrap the front in opposite directions and snap onto the back, this is what the cardigan looks like:

I don't like how they placed the buttons too far away from the edge so you can see the edge drooping down when snapped to the back:

So I thought about keeping this cardigan for like 5 minutes and decided I didn't like it that much after all.  Therefore, everything went back!!  How sad.  I definitely had higher hopes for All Saints.  Oh well, I'll be getting almost $800 back that I can put to better use!